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2/09/2013

Look! A Writing
Challenge! This is revised from a
challenge that was circulating in 2012.

The Rules are simple:

Find the word LOOK in one of your back list
books, and then post the three paragraphs surrounding it. Post your favorite
three, the ones that are most intriguing and then tag three other authors who
might like to share their back-list. I'm tagging Tom Webb, Angel Martinez, and Havan Fellows.

“Sorry to wake you,
Mr. Holloway,” he called, grateful that his voice came out sounding masculine
instead of squeaky. Knowing there was nothing he could do to disguise his
erection in his tight clothes; he turned quickly back to survey the jumbled
interior of the small van.

He heard Donovan’s approaching footsteps
squelching in the soggy leaves and looked down to see the man’s long, elegant
feet in flip-flops parked next to his own combat boots. Fuck. He even had sexy
feet? There really was no justice in the world. If there were, the man would
have some visible flaw to counteract his gorgeousness. Maybe he’s got a tiny cock, and that’s God’s little joke, or he prefers
to bottom, too. In which case even if I got him into bed neither of us would
know what the fuck to do with the other.

Coughing, he turned to his friends. “Mr.
Holloway, these are my friends, who were kind enough to help me move.” Actually,
he’d quite recently discovered that they were his only real friends, but
Donovan didn’t need to know that the hundreds of hangers-on who’d been happy to
party with him when he was flush had disappeared when the money had gone. He
pulled Bella forward from where she tried to hide behind him, “This is Bella,
and that’s Dex and Trick.” He waved in the direction of the twins hoping their
behavior at the moment was discreet enough not to turn Donovan off the idea of
letting them in his house.

2/08/2013

In Loving Jacob they were torn apart, then brought together again
for a fresh start. Follow Malcolm Jenner and Jacob Renault through a year of
special days as their relationship grows.

Join Malcolm and Jacob as they forge their relationship amid the
ashes of the past. From making love again for the first time, to letting go of
past ties, these two men still make mistakes, but the past has taught them to
be honest with one another and to consider each other's needs in addition to
their own wants and desires.

Celebrate a year of
holidays, joys, failures, and triumphs as Malcolm and Jacob learn that it takes
more than love to build a relationship that lasts.

Excerpt

Malcolm stopped him with a hand on his forearm. "Let's
take a walk on the beach while there's still some light and clean up
later." He managed to make the suggestion sound casual though he felt as
though his heart were beating out of his chest in a visible cartoon character
manner. He patted nervously at his pocket for the items he'd placed there
earlier.

Jacob nodded and twisted his wrist so that their hands were
clasped together. Malcolm's heartbeat stuttered as he caught a brief glimpse of
the fine scars that criss-crossed their way up Jacob's arm. They hadn't been
good for each other all those years ago. What made him think that this time
around would be any different? Hand in hand they descended the shallow steps to
the sand from the deck. He started to speak a few times, and bit back the
words. He wasn't sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. Damn it.

"Malcolm, what's going on here?" Jacob's voice
was soft, tentative. He seemed very young and insecure suddenly, more so than
Malcolm had ever seen him.

Bracing his spine and turning to face Jacob, Malcolm took a
deep breath before finding his voice, husky with emotion. "If I tell you
the truth…"

Jacob's gaze locked with Malcolm's. "Malcolm, you're
creeping me out here. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but this is all just
a little, well, creepy. The truth would be fine. Go ahead. I can handle
it."

Malcolm smiled. He rubbed his thumb over the scars at
Jacob's wrist. He felt on comfortable footing again. "But, is it more than
you want?"

Jacob flushed and swallowed visibly, but answered without
hesitation. "No. I want this." He gestured to the romantic moonlight
with their clasped hands, towards where the incoming tide washed away the
remains of the day. He hesitated briefly then rushed on as though determined to
get the words out. "I love you. I always have, since the very first time
in the elevator." Jacob laughed, a little darkly. "Hell, I moved back
here from Vermont,
gave up a good teaching position with the university, for a second chance with
you, Malcolm. Whatever your truth is, I can handle it."

Malcolm paused in astonishment. On reflection, he realized
that it was true, and recognized that on a certain level he had known all along
that this was the case. The soft glow in Jacob's eyes hadn't appeared there
suddenly, it had been there all along. The knowledge gave him the courage he
needed to speak himself.

When Malcolm Jenner’s
sex-on-the-side turns into more, he isn’t above begging for a second chance.

Malcolm is looking for a bit of
fun, nothing serious. He's got duties
and responsibilities, after all. He doesn’t usually choose his lovers from the
office, but his attraction to Jacob Renault is too compelling to resist.

However, Jacob isn't interested in temporary. He wants it all, Prince Charming the castle,
the happily ever after. There's no rule
that says he can't have fun while he's searching for his prince though.

At first neither is willing to
compromise their stance, but an agreement is reached, with each man planning to
do his best to subvert the other to his viewpoint. Lust turns to love, and what’s impossible
becomes merely improbable, but is it going to be enough?

Like that taste? Want to see more
of how our heroes reached this point?

The Librarian

Valentine Michaels has
just taken a vow of celibacy. Adrian Grey intends to take full advantage of
that vow to re-create his relationship with Val.

Val is at a crossroads in
his life. A college dropout, he's gone as far as he can in his career as a
cosmetologist, owning his own style salon. He no longer finds satisfaction in
it, though he's put years into proving to his bigoted parents that a college
degree and the veneer of straightness aren't the only roads to success. They'd
turned their backs on him, and he proved he didn't need them to make it.

His love life is no
better than his working life. His relationships always start with a bang and
fizzle into boredom, or worse, anger.

Adrian has his own agenda for helping Val: he's been in love
with Val since they were freshmen. The intervening years of listening to Val's
gossip about his lovers and relationships have taught Adrian just what it was
he did wrong all those years ago, and he thinks this time around he now knows
exactly how to get—and keep—his man.

Want to win?

Just leave me a
comment below with

a.your email address(
for notification purposes)

b.your idea of a
perfect Valentine date

c.Alternatively- a
decadent treat you enjoy spoiling your loved ones with on special days...

That's all.

Click on over to
the other participating blogs via the linky thingy.

Sometimes, linky
thingies don't work- so here's the link to the master blog.

2/06/2013

Hey
there! I've been thinking a lot about recipes my mom used to make, tha I loved
as a kid but never seem to serve as an adult. This is a really simple dish that
we had frequently.

Tomato Rice
Soup

My mom
made this soup with a can of diced tomatoes, or sometimes with tomatoes she'd
canned from the garden the summer before.
Beef or chicken stock, rice or even at times barley- though I guess not
many people cook with barely anymore. It's hot, light, and filling. Perfect for
an afternoon meal with a grilled cheese sandwich and a great way to use leftovers!

Ingredients:

1 can of
diced tomatoes with juice

2 cups broth

1/4 cup
chopped celery with leaves

1/2 bay
leaf, crumbled (you can play with the seasoning... I made this yesterday with
Italian seasoning)

1/2
teaspoon salt

1/8
teaspoon pepper

1 cup cooked
long grain rice

Preparation:

Bring
tomatoes, broth and seasonings to a boil in a large saucepan. Add rice and heat
through. Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste.

You can
kick it up with Mexican spices, use macaroni instead of rice, make it your own
in a lot of ways. Do you have a homestyle favorite soup?

2/05/2013

I think I owe that flame to quite a few people over the last 45 years. From the fifth grade teacher who had our class write legends explaining natural phenomena as part of a history lesson, to the sophomore literature teacher who gave us everything from the Wizard of Oz to the Great Gatsby to read, to the professor who asked if I had always written with grace...

2/03/2013

Just a
note about what February is bringing. I have three releases scheduled for this
month. That sounds like a lot, but when I tell you two of them are 5K short
stories, and the other is a collection of short stories I wrote over the course
of 2012, you'll realize that I am not being over worked. LOL

First,
I've had a short story that I wrote back in 2011 that I love. Its hard to find
a publisher who accepts shorts though, outside of anthologies, and believe it
or not, a lot of people don't buy anthologies! So, this story is finally seeing
the light of day via Lime Time Press,
my little self publishing venture. It's a Valentine story about a man with a
secret, and the man who hopes to love him. While it's a romantic story, it
doesn't end with a wedding or an avowal of love. It's a beginning with the
promise of a future HEA. Look for Under the Pier at e-book dealers on Feb. 8th.

Second,
my anthology of Malcolm and Jacob short stories is releasing form Breathless
Press on February 15. This collection covers a year of holidays as Malcolm
Jenner and Jacob Renault, heroes of Loving Jacob, try to put their relationship
back together again. It is currently available for pre-order at BREATHLESS
PRESS and will release elsewhere on Feb. 15.

Last, you
may not know this, but I write stories that are more erotic, less romantic, quick
erotic sex-capades without the HEA, under the name L.B.. The first series of
those, A Rake in London,
is releasing over the next few months Book #2, A Debt of Honor: Collected will
release at the end of February. They are a lot of fun to write, and the Regency
is a lovely era to visit. If HEA isn't a requirement for you, I hope you give
them a try!

Be Yourself

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955